Generic content collection systems

ABSTRACT

The invention generally relates to a universal, generic content collection method and system for collecting, storing, and sharing content on the Internet using computers, mobile and/or electronic devices. In one aspect, the invention relates to methods and systems for collecting multiple types of content using a user interface. The method includes activating the user interface associated with the content, wherein the user interface is configurable to be associated with at least two types of content; optionally, providing a list of one or more content collections services, wherein a first content collection service is configured to collect a first type of content and a second content collection service is configured to collect a second type of content; and directing the content to one or more content collection services. The user interface may be a virtual button on a webpage, browser or other screen device, or a physical button on a piece of hardware such as a PDA, mobile phone, watch, etc.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e)(1) to provisionalpatent applications having U.S. Ser. No. 60/806,725 filed on Jul. 6,2006 and 60/864,162 filed on Nov. 3, 2006. The content of both of theseprovisional patent applications are incorporated herein in theirentirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The field of the invention generally relates to a universal, genericcontent collection system for collecting, storing, and sharing contenton the Internet using computers, mobile and/or electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

The Internet contains many types of content that users may wish tocollect and share. In response to this desire, services have developedto enable users to collect and share particular types of content. Forexample, for bookmarks, services such as del.icio.us and GoogleBookmarks allow users to easily capture and store bookmarks. Similarly,services are available to capture feeds. For example, Bloglines,MyYahoo, Google Reader, and others provide services to capture and storefeeds. However, each service is configured to capture only one type ofcontent. Thus, a user would choose between numerous bookmark servicesdisplayed on a page in the form of user interfaces (e.g., buttons on ascreen or webpage) and select one from the list displayed to bookmarkthat page, for example, using the del.icio.us button or user interfacefor collecting bookmarks. The user however may later accidentally use adifferent service for collecting bookmarks and file similar content indifferent services thereby adding complexity and obstacles in retrievingthe information. Similar complexities and obstacles exist for othercontent types.

The web publisher has a limited area on the screen to provide thesevarious content collection buttons or user interfaces and must choosewhich to include and exclude as well as how to fit them on the web pagealong with the content. Too many buttons use valuable screen space fordisplaying buttons rather than for displaying the content of the webpublisher. This does not benefit either the web publisher or the user.

FIG. 1 provides a diagram illustrating the relationship between contenttype on the Internet, content collection buttons or user interfaces,content collection services, and content destination using a currentbookmarking service 5. Content 7 displayed on the Internet may have oneor more bookmarking buttons (i.e., user interfaces) 10 a, 10 b, 10 c, 10d . . . 10 n associated with it. Examples of bookmarking buttonsassociated with content include buttons from del.icio.us, Googlebookmarks, Digg, etc. Pressing, clicking, or otherwise activating thebutton causes the content associated with the button or interface to besent to its corresponding bookmarking service 15 a, 15 b, 15 c, 15 d, .. . 15 n. Thus, pressing the del.icio.us bookmark button 10 a will causecontent to be sent to the del.icio.us bookmarking service 15 a, just asclicking the google bookmark button 10 b and the Digg button 10 c willcause content to be sent the corresponding bookmarking service 15 b and15 c, respectively. In particular, the content will go to the specificbookmarking service and at that service it will go to the account of theuser who has activated the button on the specific bookmarking service.The content will neither go to another service nor to multiple servicesimultaneously. As a consequence a user is reliant upon the webpublisher to include the bookmark service buttons 10 on the page. Theweb publisher may select one, two or more of the buttons but leave offother buttons. As a consequence, the user is inconvenienced by the needto set up multiple bookmark accounts with the various services in orderto be capable of bookmarking from any web page.

It should be noted that the bookmarking example of FIG. 1 operatessimilarly to other current content collection methods. For example,there are numerous feed services with feed service buttons forcollecting feed content. Activating one of the feed service buttons willsend the feed to that corresponding feed service. Similar configurationsexist for podcast services, wish list services, etc. In general acontent collection service will have a button on a web page andactivating that button will send content to that service.

In summary, the prior art content collection methods generally relate tocollecting content using a button or user interface in which the methodincludes activating a user interface associated with one type ofcontent. Activating the user interface directs the content to a contentcollection service.

In contrast, one invention described herein includes a method and userinterface or button that provides the ability to use a single interfaceor button that is configurable to collect digital content without beinglimited by the type of digital content collected. Another inventiondescribed herein includes a method and user interface or button thatprovides the ability to use a single interface or button that isconfigurable to collect digital content without being limited by thecollection service for the particular type of digital content collected.It should be noted that in general the user interface and button areused interchangeable herein to describe a button that a user can pressor otherwise activate to collect content.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, there is provided a method for collectingmultiple types of content using a user interface. The method includes:

activating the user interface associated with the content, wherein theuser interface is configurable to be associated with at least two typesof content;

optionally, providing a list of one or more content collectionsservices, wherein a first content collection service is configured tocollect a first type of content and a second content collection serviceis configured to collect a second type of content; and

directing the content to one or more content collection services.

Embodiments of the method may include one or more of the followingfeatures. For example, the user interface may include one or more of abrowser button, a button displayed on a webpage, and a button on amobile device. The mobile device may include one or more of a cellphone, PDA, camera, and watch.

The content may include one or more of bookmarks, RSS feeds, podcasts,products, advertisements, contacts, events, images, videos, ads,classifieds, documents, and snippets of information.

The content may be displayed on a web page and the user interface isdisplayed on the webpage. The method may further include additional userinterfaces displayed on the webpage. The additional user interfaces maybe associated with content of a different type than the first type ofcontent.

The method may further include setting a default content collectionservice for the content, whereby subsequently activating a userinterface associated with a second content directs the content to thedefault content collection service, the second content type being thesame content type as the first content. Subsequently activating the userinterface associated with the second content may direct the content tothe default content collection service without presenting an option ofselecting a content collection service.

The content collected may be stored in a database separate from thecontent collection service. The data collected may be used fordetermining advertisements to be displayed to a user. The data collectedmay be used for creating a profile of the user of the user interface.The data collected may be used for inventory management purposes.

In another general aspect there is provided a system for collectingmultiple types of content using a user interface. The system mayinclude:

a means for displaying a user interface associated with the content,wherein the user interface is configurable to be associated with atleast two types of content;

a means for processing data created by activating the user interface todirect the content to one or more content collection services; and

an optional display of a list of one or more content collectionsservices, wherein a first content collection service is configured tocollect a first type of content and a second content collection serviceis configured to collect a second type of content.

Embodiments of the system may include one or more of the featuresdescribed above. For example, the user interface may include one or moreof a browser button, a button displayed on a webpage, and a button on amobile device. The mobile device may include one or more of a cellphone, PDA, camera, and watch. The watch may have the ability tocommunicate with other devices, e.g., using RF, Bluetooth, or othercommunication services.

The content may include one or more of bookmarks, RSS feeds, podcasts,products, advertisements, contacts, events, images, videos, ads,classifieds, documents, and snippets of information.

The content may be displayed on a web page and the user interface isdisplayed on the webpage. The system may further include additional userinterfaces displayed on the webpage. The additional user interfaces maybe associated with content of a different type than the first type ofcontent.

The system may further include a means for setting a default contentcollection service for the content, whereby subsequently activating auser interface associated with a second content directs the content tothe default content collection service, the second content type beingthe same content type as the first content. Subsequently activating theuser interface associated with the second content may direct the contentto the default content collection service without presenting an optionof selecting a content collection service.

The content collected may be stored in a database separate from thecontent collection service. The data collected may be used fordetermining advertisements to be displayed to a user. The data collectedmay be used for creating a profile of the user of the user interface.The data collected may be used for inventory management purposes.

In another general aspect there is provided a method and system forcollecting content using a user interface. The method may include:

activating the user interface associated with the content;

providing a list of one or more content collections services to receivethe content; and

directing the content to one or more content collection services.

Embodiments of the method may include one or more of the followingfeatures or those described above or herein. For example, the userinterface may include one or more of a browser button, a buttondisplayed on a webpage, and a button on a mobile device. The mobiledevice may include one or more of a cell phone, PDA, camera, and awatch.

The content may be bookmarks, RSS feeds, podcasts, products,advertisements, contacts, events, images, videos, ads, classifieds,documents, and snippets of information. The content may be displayed ona web page and the user interface displayed on the webpage.

The method may further include additional user interfaces displayed onthe webpage.

The details of various embodiments of the invention are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages of the invention will be apparent from the description,drawings, and claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the content flow using prior art bookmarkingservices.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a basic universal content collection button.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a content-specific collection button allowingone or more users to submit content to one or more content collectionservices using a single content collection button.

FIG. 4 is a schematic of a generic content collection system thatincludes a generic content collection or universal button that can beused to collect content by pressing the button.

FIG. 5 is a schematic of a generic content collection system forcollecting content from webpages, desktops and mobile devices andsubmitting that content to one or more content collection services.

FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a webpage having content to be collected.

FIG. 7 is a screenshot of a first screen that could be displayed uponcollecting content from the webpage of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a screenshot of a second screen that could be displayed uponcollecting content from the webpage of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a generic contentcollection system with one or more universal button(s).

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating one application of the universalbutton and/or generic content collection service to manage storeinventory.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustrating the application of the universalbutton to submit content to a generic content collection service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 2 an improved content collection system 100 includesone or more content-specific, content collection buttons. For example, afirst content-specific, content collection button may be a bookmarkingbutton 105, a second content-specific, content collection button may bea feed button 110, and a third content-specific, content collectionbutton may be a podcast button 115. Other content-specific contentcollection buttons include wishlist, people, friends, contacts, images,videos, ads, classifieds, etc. Activating one of the content collectionbuttons sends the content to the corresponding content collection engine120, 125, 130. For example, activating the bookmarking button 105 sendsthe bookmark content to the bookmarking collection engine 120 and theengine 120 submits the bookmark content to one or more bookmark services135, 140, 145. The user selects the bookmark service or services toreceive the content either in advance as a default setting or each timethe content button is activated.

The user has a number of options when selecting the service or servicesto use. At a basic level, the user selects the service from a list andthe engine 120 navigates the browser to the service's web page so thatthe user can optionally enter account information (e.g., password), tagsassociated with the content collected, and other information thatassists in categorizing and/or retrieving the content collected. Inanother implementation, the engine 120 automatically submits the contentto the service without causing the user to navigate to the service's webpage. A significant difference between the two approaches is the contentdisplayed to the user. In the first approach the user activates thebutton 105, a webpage for the service is displayed, and the useroptionally enters additional information. In the second approach, theuser activates the button 105, the engine 120 may prompt the user foradditional information and then the engine submits the content andadditional information to the service. In the latter approach the enginedoes not cause the user to navigate to the service webpage; instead, theengine 120 sends the information to the service using login informationthat the user may have provided in advance or as a result of activatingthe button.

FIG. 2 also illustrates additional content collection buttons, enginesand destination services. They may be configured in the same manner asthe bookmarking button 105, engine 120 and destinations 135, 140, 145,the difference being that the content collected is of a different type,e.g., feeds and podcasts rather than bookmarks.

Referring to FIG. 3, in an implementation 150 of the content-specificcollection button described above, one or more users 155 submit contentto one or more content collection services 160 using a contentcollection button 165 placed on, for example, a web page 170. In thisimplementation the content-specific collection button is the AddThis™button (www.addthis.com), although other suppliers of a universalcontent collection button are envisioned and the instant patent isdirected to more than the AddThis service. This implementationdemonstrates how a web publisher can makes its content easier to collectfor any visitor regardless of which content collection service thevisitor uses or wishes to use. Additional benefits possible for the webpublisher using this collection button are reduced screen clutter byreplacing multiple buttons with a single button, no need to decide whichbutton(s) of multiple buttons should be placed on the screen, and noneed to find the correct software code for each of the multiple buttons.

Referring to FIG. 4, a generic content collection system 200 includes ageneric content collection or universal button 205 that can be used tocollect content by pressing the button. For example, the universalbutton 205 can be implemented on a browser to collect the web page beingviewed, on a web page displaying an object (e.g., a piece ofmerchandise) to collect a picture of the object and/or information aboutthe object, adjacent to or associated with a contact in an email tocollect the contact details about the contact, on a computer or mobiledevice (e.g., a cell phone's camera, keyboard, watch with communicationability, e.g., RFID, etc.) to collect information captured by the mobiledevice, or associated with a software application (e.g., Word, Excel,etc.) to collect information from that application. The button 205 canbe in the form of an actual button that is physically pressed (e.g., ona mobile device, on a keyboard, etc.) or a computer/softwarerepresentation of a button that is activated on the screen by a mouse,keyboard, stylus, touch screen, voice or software command, etc. Thecontent collected by the universal button 205 can be collected to aspecified destination as specified by the user or application. Forexample, the user can specify that using the universal button to collecta bookmark of a web page should store that bookmark in a bookmarkingservice (e.g., del.icio.us, Google bookmarks), store an object orinformation about an object in an online or offline storage system, orstore an image and information from a mobile device to a socialnews/recommendation service or web page.

At a basic level, the generic content collection system 200 furtherincludes the content collected 210, a collection engine 215, and a listor array of destinations 220 a, 220 b, 220 c, . . . 220 n. The contentcollected 210 should be interpreted broadly. At one level, the contentcollected includes unstructured, structured or highly structuredcontent; metadata; images; audio; video; ads, classifieds, products, URLaddress, a reference to the actual content; etc. Representations of thisvarious content include bookmarks, RSS feeds, podcasts, products,advertisements, contacts, events, images, videos, ads, classifieds,documents, snippets of information, etc.

Pressing or otherwise activating the universal button 205 causes thecontent associated with the button to be provided, transferred orotherwise transmitted to the collection engine 215. At a first level,the collection engine 215 processes the content provided to determine towhich destination in the array of destinations the content should besent or otherwise stored.

The manner in which the collection engine 215 processes the content isdetermined as a function of the web publisher's specification of thebutton configuration and/or the user's specification of the destination.The web publisher has a number of options for configuring the button. Inone implementation, the button is available with a listing of the typesof contents that can be submitted or collected. Each content type in thelisting can be activated or deactivated for collecting content. Thus,one web publisher may decide that only bookmarking and feeds areapplicable to its content and activate those two categories of contentcollection. When the user activates the button, only those types ofcontent are available for collection. The type of content available forcollection can be indicated in a number of manners. For the user, thebutton may include symbols or the like that are indicative of thecontent type, passing the mouse over the button may cause a dropdownmenu to open that provides the content type that may be collected oreven the destination services available for only those types of content.

In a second implementation, the system 200 is capable of searching thewebpage to determine the types and instances of content to display andmake available to collect. The web publisher can specify that instead ofonly collecting a few content types, the service should determine thetypes of content available for collecting and allow the button tocollect any of those types upon being activated. In this manner, whenactivating the button 205, the user will see, for example, a drop downmenu of the types of content that has been found to be available on thatwebpage. The user then can decide for each of those types of content thetarget service or services to receive the content.

As an example, the service can search the HTML of the webpage, look forspecial tags, metadata, micro content, etc. and list the types andinstances of content available for collecting from that page. Theservice also can examine the metadata further to distinguish betweencontent of the same type. A webpage with multiple feeds may havemetadata associated with each of the feeds. The service can look at thedifferent feeds and distinguish between each as being a different feedand then display as a drop down menu on the button the various feedsavailable on that page. Further, the dropdown menu can list destinationsfor each feed and content type. This process can also be used to makeother types and instances of content available for collection andsharing; e.g. products, ads, classifieds, images, videos, etc.

As described above in FIG. 2, the user has a number of options whenselecting the destination, destinations, service or services to use. Ata basic level, the user selects the service from a list and the engine215 navigates the browser to the service's web page so that the user canoptionally enter account information (e.g., password), tags associatedwith the content collected, and other information that assists incategorizing and/or retrieving the content collected. In anotherimplementation, the engine 215 automatically submits the content to theservice without causing the user to navigate to the service's web page.A significant difference between the two approaches is the screen ormenu displayed to the user. In the first approach the user activates thebutton and a webpage for the service is displayed and the useroptionally enters additional information. In the second approach, theuser activates the button and sees nothing more or different because thecontent is submitted without the need for additional user interaction.

FIGS. 2-4 describe collecting and sharing content to traditional contentcollection services, such as bookmarking services, feed collectionsservices, podcast collection services, etc. Referring to FIGS. 5-9, thecontent collected can be submitted to a variety of other services ordestinations. For example, the destination can be one or more of anemail to a person or group; a social network such as Facebook,Linked-In, MySpace; printing; a comment; a rating; a statistic; relatedcontent, best seller, join community; product rating; subscribe; add towishlist; images; videos; ads; classifieds; products, add to universalshopping cart; etc. FIGS. 5-9 illustrate an example of oneimplementation 300 of a content collection system with associated screenshots and flow chart. In this implementation the user can collectdifferent types of content on a web site 305 and save that content intheir preferred content collection service using a dialogue box wherethey can also provide additional information about that contentcollected. In this example, the user can collect multiple types ofinformation from the single website 305 using a single button associatedwith each discrete piece of information. For example, in FIG. 5 theimplementation 300 includes the webpage 305, one or more desktop ormobile objects 310, a content collection engine 315, and an array ofcontent destinations 320.

The website 305 illustrates the use of the content collection buttonapplied at multiple locations on the same web page for the multiplecontent types, including on the browser 323. The content types includeproducts 325, events 330, contacts 335 and feed 340. It should beunderstood that the various content types described herein may be on thewebsite 305 but are left off in this example merely for convenience ofillustrating this implementation.

The desktop or mobile objects 310 may include an application, widget,tool, content, etc. Examples of objects include applications such asWord, Outlook, Excel, etc. in which, for example, the Word applicationincludes the content collection button displayed in a toolbar of theapplication, as an icon or button 345 in a task bar.

The content collection engine 315, as described above with respect tocontent collection engines, receives content from the button on thewebsite 305 or desktop/mobile object 310. The engine 315 has a database350 of account information for each user and optionally includes contentcollected previously for each user and information provided by each userwhen using the system 300. The engine 315 sends content to the one ormore content destinations 320 based on selections chosen by the user.

As an example, in FIG. 6 a user may view a particular webpage on thewebsite 305 and decide to collect one or more pieces of content from thewebpage. Referring also to FIG. 7, if the user decides to collect thebookmark content by selecting the content button associated with abookmark, the user will be prompted to select the destination for thecontent. The screenshot 360 illustrated in FIG. 7 is an example of theprompts that may be displayed to the user after pressing the bookmarkcontent button. The screenshot 360 includes prompts for the URL 365, atitle box for the content 370, a tag box 375, optional tags 380 topopulate the tag box 375, and a listing 385 of destinations. Thescreenshot 360 is a typical example of the prompts that will bedisplayed upon first using the system 300 and before the user hasselected default destinations for types of content.

Referring to FIG. 8, if the user has selected default destinations forspecific types of content, upon subsequent usages of a content button onthe website 305 the user may instead of seeing the screenshot 360 see ascreenshot 390. The screenshot 390 only displays one content destination395, that which has been previously selected by the user to be thedefault destination. Of course, the user may select multipledestinations for the same content type and thereby the screenshot 390will display a listing of those destinations.

The flowchart 400 of FIG. 9 depicts the process steps of theimplementation of FIGS. 5-8. According to Step 405, a content collectionservice provides to web users and web publishers multiple universalbuttons, a single universal button, and/or various implementations ofthe universal button(s). One implementation of the button and service isthat provided by the AddThis system (www.addthis.com). As describedabove, the button(s) help web publishers dispense their content to usersand help web users collect content from websites. The buttons helpcollect/dispense any kind of content, for example web bookmarks, webfeeds, podcasts, images, products, classified, discounts, music,documents, videos, events, etc., as described above.

According to Step 410, a web publisher can use the AddThis button orother universal button(s) on any content they produce, for examplewebsites, blogs, emails, documents, ebooks, ads, etc. Software makerscan integrate the AddThis button in their applications. Advantageously,by adding the universal button(s) to their content, web publishersinsulate themselves and their users from confusion created by the fastgrowing number of services and methods for collecting content. Inaddition, the web publisher increases the quality and quantity of thecontent web users can collect because the web page is not as clutteredwith content collection buttons. As noted above, the universal button(s)can take many forms: html code, client scripting (e.g. javascript),server scripting, flash, images, etc. The button(s) can optionallycontain information to further describe the content they represent. Thisinformation can be any attribute for the content (e.g. url, title,description, keywords, upc, brand, price, time, type, color, size, etc).

According to Step 415 a user can install the AddThis or other universalbutton(s) in their web browser, application, computer, or electronicdevice (pda, cellular phone, etc). By installing the buttons, usersinsulate themselves from the multitude of services and methods forcollecting content, as well as the confusion created by attempting tokeep the content collected and categorized.

According to Step 420, a user can click or select the AddThis button orother universal button(s) on a website, blog, email, document, webbrowser, computer, application, electronic device, etc. to select andcollect an object, or piece of content.

According to Step 425, a user can optionally add/edit information aboutthe object selected. This information can be any attribute of the object(e.g. url, title, description, keywords, upc, brand, price, time, type,color, size, etc), or its content itself. The information can be addedor edited in a variety of manners known on the Internet, such as popupwindows, fields that appear based on the position of the mouse, a secondscreen for entering information, etc.

According to Step 430, the system may optionally prompt the user for thedestination of the content collected. Examples of content collectionservices are Google, My Yahoo, Live, del.icio.us, Bloglines, Newsgator,Kaboodle, Digg, OmniDrive, and the like—essentially any content servicethat takes input from users or groups of users.

According to Step 435, the system submits content and additional userinformation to one or more user-preferred destination services. Thesystem can identify users by login, cookie, IP address, or otheridentifier. By identifying the user, the system can use defaults createdby the user for saving content in specific destinations.

According to Step 440, the system may prompt users for login info fordestination service(s) selected. Step 440 is optional, for example, ifthe user does not want to provide login information to the system but iswilling to provide the login information to the destination service atthe time of using the service. Of course, the user may be willing toprovide multiple passwords to the service so that it is more convenientto select destinations when using the universal button.

According to Step 445, the one or more content collection servicesreceive the information sent by the AddThis system or other universalbutton service.

According to Step 450, the system optionally stores all informationentered or collected into a database. This includes, for example,information collected and entered by users, user logins, preferreddestinations, micro-content, user data imported from content collectionservices, etc. This information can be used for a multitude of purpose,including helping web publishers track the demographics of its user, webretailers determine which products are being viewed (e.g., for trackinginventory and determining what should be kept in the store or in awarehouse or distribution center), etc. The information can be stored onan individual user basis, on a demographic basis, or as a collectivebasis for all users. The applications of this information is describedin more detail below.

According to Step 455, the system may suggest to a user what informationto enter based on previous info entered by the user him/herself or byother users. This can be useful to the user because they may not knowthe best manner of categorizing the content or which destination serviceto submit the content. For example, the system can store the tagassociated with the object or content and list the top tag or top threetags for the user to have the option to use. This process advantageouslyincreases the convenience to the user by removing some of theuncertainties that come with multiple options.

The data collected using the universal button(s) or AddThis button maybe useful in numerous applications, as described below. Viewing theGeneric Content Collection Systems (GCCS) as a whole, there is auniversal button or AddThis button that is seen by the web user oneither a web page, the user's own browser, the operating system,hardware (e.g., electronic devices) or a web or computer application. Inparticular, the GCCS can be implemented as a stand alone service orimplemented in any software application, tool, api, module, object,widget, etc. However, this is only that portion of the GCCS seen by theweb user. In addition to the universal or AddThis button there also areone or more web servers, one or more databases, and one or moreapplications and application servers.

A first application of the system described herein relates to anadvertising network in which the GCCS (Generic Content CollectionSystem) stores all data collected by users into its own database. Thisdata is used to build an internal profile for each user over time. Thepurpose of the profile is to identify information about the user such asinterests, age, gender, geographical location, and other demographicdata, etc. This is done by processing collected content information,text, metadata, site URL, user IP address, by conducting surveys, socialnetwork (links to other web users—inside or outside the system), orother external sources.

As users collect content from websites and blogs, the GCCS mayoccasionally display a contextual ad (text or graphic) to the user. Todetermine which ad to display to a given user, the GCCS uses theinformation stored in that user's internal profile. By using thisinformation, the GCCS is able to target ads by user interest (past orpresent), location, age, gender, interests, content collected, etc, andby analyzing profiles of users known to that user, etc. By correlatingprofile data with other users (known or unknown by that user), the GCCScan also infer new likely interests for a given user. The profile ofusers can also be augmented or confirmed when users click (or don'tclick) on ads presented to them, as well as through surveys.

The ads displayed in the GCCS network come from advertisers that aremembers of the GCCS network, or from other contextual ad networks. Whensubmitting ads to the GCCS network, advertisers can choose the targetaudience based on the user profile attributes listed above. For example,an ad about digital cameras may be shown to users that have previouslycollected or shared, or received content related to digital cameras. Oran ad about a Rolling Stones concert in New York may be shown to usersthat have previously collected, shared, or received content related tothe Rolling Stones (or related artists) and/or are located in the NewYork area. Further, the GCCS may also present ads about a Rolling Stonesconcert to the users that are friends with a user who has previouslycollected content related to the Rolling Stones. These ads may bepresented either in the form of an offer or news for the friendsthemselves, or in the form of a gift idea to these friends for thatuser.

A second application of the GCCS relates to the use of metadata inaugmenting the content collected by users using the universal button(s).The use of metadata by the GCCS allows the web publisher to furtherdescribe the content on their page without necessarily displaying thatcontent. This is useful, for example, when the quantity of informationrelating to a particular product displayed on a web page would clutterup the web page if it were displayed. However, the viewer or web usermight like access to that information after collecting that content(i.e., the product). This is particularly useful for a complex item,such as a plasma television. When using metadata in the context of aGCCS, the web publisher could display the plasma television, dimensions,screen aspect, pixel pitch, supported video standards, contrast ratio,price, discount, and a brief description. This would allow the web userto make an initial determination as to whether or not they want to lookfurther at this item. If they remain interested after seeing thevisually displayed information they can click on the AddThis button (orother universal button) and collect not just the visual information butalso the metadata that is provided with the item. This information, atleast for the plasma television, can include specifications such aspixels, resolution, and other technical information that a purchaser ofa plasma television might wish to review before making a purchase. Theweb user might also want to compare the technical specifications withthose of other plasma televisions collected from the same or other websites.

The metadata can be specified by the web publisher of the web page in acommonly accepted format such as the microcontent format standard orvarious XML vocabularies, both currently existing and developed in thefuture. An objective of specifying the metadata is to provide the userthe ability to use the AddThis button to collect not just the visuallydisplayed information but also the metadata associated with a product.In other words, the combination of the AddThis button and the metadataallows web users the ability to collect as much information as possible.This is of advantage to the web publisher who can design a page with agood visual appeal but also provide the web user the ability to collectdetailed information about the product (i.e., web content) by merelypressing a single button, the AddThis button. As content collectionservices continue to evolve and allow users to save more data andmetadata about objects they collect, the AddThis button will become moreand more useful to web users, web publishers and content collectionservices.

A third use of the GCCS and the universal button(s) relates toperforming analytics on the data collected. The data collected by usingthe AddThis button may be stored in a database. The data then can beaggregated in numerous ways to provide valuable statistics and trendsabout the content collected either on a web site or across all websites. For example, web publishers might be interested to know whichproducts on their web site are collected the most, or alternatively,those products that receive the least attention (as measured by clicksof the AddThis button or other universal button(s)). This informationcan be useful to determine what is effective or popular on the web pageand what is not. As another example, the web publisher may which to knowthe location of the people interested in a specific product, orinterested in product by geographic location. As an example, a nationalbook retailer may wish to determine the geographical location of thepeople interested in a particular book. This information might be usefulin determining what books to display at different stores by regionacross the country.

A fourth application of the GCCS and universal button(s) is incommunication and personalization of the content viewed by a particularuser. The content collected across multiple, unrelated web sites by anindividual user with the AddThis button can be used by the GCCS tocreate a profile of that user. This profile then can be used to enhancethe communication from the web publisher to that web user by the webpublisher. For example, the profile created by the GCCS can be used tobetter target product offerings to a user on the web publisher's website by allowing the web publisher to be alerted to a pre-specifiedinterest of that user such that the web publisher can personalize theweb page to display information of greater interest to that user.

This may be implemented by the web publisher signing an agreement withthe GCCS to supply full or partial profiles of users, with the users'approval. The partial profile may be based on a listing of possibleattributes of the user that can be selectively specified as being ofinterest to the web publisher. Then when the user visits the web page aseries of steps is initiated that provides the web publisher withinformation useful for personalizing the web page content for that user.

A fifth application of the GCCS relates to social databases. Under thisimplementation, the sum total of the information collected by all of theusers is accumulated over time and used as the basis for a searchengine. This search engine differs in one aspect from conventionalsearch engines by being based on content collected by users, as opposedto collected by a program, and based on the use of microcontent andmetadata. As a consequence, the resulting search engine can be used forsearching by object attributes rather than merely by keywords. Oneattribute that can be displayed is the popularity of an item or theranking of an item displayed can be based on the number of collectionsof that item. For example, if a user is interested in MP3 players, whenthey enter ‘MPS Player’ into the search engine the resulting displaywill order or rank the MP3 players based on the number of times aparticular MP3 player has been collected using the AddThis button.

A sixth application of the GCCS and universal button(s) relates to twotier advertising—an alternative advertising accounting method topay-per-click. Currently web publishers are paid by web advertisersbased on the number of clicks on that advertisement displayed on the webpublisher's web site. This provides an inference that a user is showingsome interest in that web site but does not take into account the degreeof interest in the content displayed on that web site. With the AddThisbutton, the web advertiser will have an enhanced inference of a webuser's interest in a product on the web page if the user clicks on theAddThis button associated with that product. This enables a webpublisher to set a two tier advertising rate based on a first rate forclicks on a web page and a second, potentially higher rate for anAddThis collection of a product on that web advertiser's web page orcollection of the web address itself using the AddThis button.

A seventh application of the GCCS and universal button(s) relates to theability to provide comparison shopping tables containing contentcollected from multiple sites, and optionally use metadata to set up thetable. With reference to the discussion above regarding metadata, ifmetadata is used with products on various web sites, when the AddThisbutton is used to download the content relating to a particular product,the web user will have a greater volume of information about thatproduct than would be seen visually. Upon downloading content fromvarious unrelated sites that yet relate to a common product (e.g., MP3player), the GCCS can use the metadata to prepare a comparison table ofthe products from the different web pages. The table can show all theproducts and the features of those products in a readily comparablemanner. This can be displayed such that the user can make a moreinformed comparison over a cross section of products from multipleunrelated web sites than if they were limited to using the informationas displayed by each individual web publisher on the individual websites.

An eighth application of the GCCS and universal button(s) relates totracking and analyzing trends for items on a web publisher's page, andcan be used for inventory management or deciding which item to stockquickly. Referring to the discussion on analytics above, the trendfeature of the GCCS can be used by a web publisher to determine whichproducts are of interest to web users visiting their web site. Thisinformation can be used to predict which items will be of greaterinterest in, for example, the web publisher's stores. Such informationcan be used to manage inventory, plan displays of product, and requestproduct manufacturing, all to ensure that the company can meet thedemand for a product before the demand overwhelms the company's abilityto supply that product. In this implementation, the GCCS can be used asa method of managing product inventory. The method may include:

(a) providing a web page with one or more content collection buttonsassociated with one or more products;

(b) registering the occurrence of a web user clicking on the contentcollection button; and

(c) tracking the occurrences of the clicks of the content collectionbutton. The tracking can include one or more of the product clicked, thetime clicked, the geographical region of the user who clicked.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process 500 of using a GCCS system and/oruniversal button to manage inventory. Referring to Steps 510-540 the webretailer initializes the system to correlate the collection of a productusing the GCCS with sales of that product. For example, according toStep 510 the web retailer has a universal button associated with aproduct on a web page displaying the product. As web users use thebutton to collect content, such as a particular product (e.g., MP3player) from the webpage that content collection event or click isstored in a database of the GCCS, web retailer, or collection service.According to Step 520, the GCCS, web retailer or collection serviceoptionally categorizes the uses of the universal by user, location ofthe user, product, date, etc. With this data collected over time, andusing sales trends from the web retailers bricks-and-mortar locations,the web retailer or GCCS can take the content collection trends for aparticular product and compare sales in the brick-and-mortar locationswith clicks of the universal button for the product on the company's webretail page (Step 530). The web retailer then can determine if there isa correlation between clicks for a product on the web page andsubsequent product sales at the bricks and mortar location (Step 540).The web retailer may find that on a Monday there is an increase in thecollection of a particular MP3 player by users located in a known area.The web retailer then may find that on the Wednesday two days subsequentthere is an increase in purchase of the particular MP3 who collectionactivity on the web page was monitored. Using this data, the retailermay determine that by tracking the trends of universal content collectedon one day, then they need to increase the stock at the bricks andmortar retail location two days later but not constantly. According toStep 550, the web retailer then may prospectively analyze clicks orusage of the universal button using the correlation developed earlier.With the correlation, the retailer may reduce its inventory level in astore and adjust it based on web clicks or content collected (Step 560).This type of inventory management allows the retailer to reduce theinventory in the stores and keep more of the inventory in a centralwarehouse. Moreover, by providing the items to the stores only whenneeded, the retailer can reduce the total inventory of a product at thewarehouse as well as within the entire supply chain.

In a ninth application of the GCCS and universal button(s), the systemcan be used for collecting advertisements. Often times users see web adsand may be interested but may not have the time to examine the ad moreclosely or visit the web site. In such a circumstance, if the ad had anAddThis button or other universal button associated with it the web usercan merely click on that button and have the content of the ad saved forlater evaluation. This is a different method of collecting advertisementcontent and can be valued by a web publisher and web advertiserdifferently from the traditional method of valuing clicks on a web page,impression of the ad, or cost per action. The web advertiser could thenpay an advertising fee based on the number of collections of that ad.These ads can be on the web site of the web publisher who displaysadvertising or a search engine whose search results includeadvertisements. The advertisements described herein can be, for example,text or graphic ads, including videos, flash etc.

A tenth application of the GCCS and universal button(s) relates tocollecting user-generated content and offline bookmarking. Thisapplication allows user to add info they collect or generate, such ascollecting travel info, day-to-day info, news info, etc. and uploadingto a Youtube-like web page that everyone can search and view by topicetc. Recommendations and editorial comment can be added by the contentcollector. The result is a collection of multiple types ofuser-generated content shared over the Internet. For example, Youtube isa collection of one particular type of user-generated content,specifically video content, uploaded to the Internet. In contrast, thisfunctionality of the GCCS would allow uploading of any type ofuser-generated content, such as information about or relating to atangible object, such as a person, place, thing, event, etc.

For example, if a person is on a trip they may wish to generate contentrelated to their journey and their experiences along the way. Thus,after visiting a good restaurant they may wish to generate content abouttheir experience at the restaurant. To do so they could use either theircell phone, computer, or other electronic device (e.g., a mobile device)to upload content to the GCCS. In one implementation the contentuploaded from a cell phone could be picture(s) of the outside of therestaurant, the inside of the restaurant, the meal, the staff, menu,etc. The pictures could be accompanied by text entry of the name of therestaurant, location and contact information for the restaurant,comments about the experience at the restaurant, a rating of therestaurant experience, and information about prices (including theprices themselves). This type of user-generated content could berepeated at various restaurants, hotels, museums, events, and places ofinterest generally, along the trip. At the end of the trip the personcan go back and look at what is effectively their travel blog for theirtrip. More likely, however, is that the accumulation of this type ofuser-generated content will create a database that others can access forinformation useful in planning trips. For example, if a person istraveling between two cities they may wish to locate restaurants thathave a particular average rating, match particular culinary preferencesor dietary restriction (e.g., vegetarian, kosher), or have somecharacteristic that has been captured by the user-generated content andnow can be searched.

When the person in the above example visits the restaurant and wishes toupload the content, the GCCS can use an algorithm to create or assign areference number or other identifier to be associated with therestaurant. The reference number or identifier can be used to facilitateaccurate identification of an object, in a manner similar to thatprovided by a URL. In one implementation, the identifier can be a URL.In other implementations the identifier can be one or more of a barcode,Qcode, number, ID, phone number, GPS location, or image. In anotherimplementation the identifier can be a scheme based on an algorithmdefined by the GCCS to assign unique, universal identifiers. As contentis uploaded over time, the GCCS accumulates large amounts of informationabout objects both online and offline, and relationships betweenobjects. This information can be used by any person or program to searchfor information about a topic of interest, as well as other searchesdepending upon the user interface or API.

Continuing the example above of a trip, the GCCS could provide anitinerary planner service based on user-input preferences. For example,the user may be traveling from New York City to Disney World and wishesto find restaurants, hotels, events, people, and scenic places that havecertain characteristics, such as price, an average rating level, type ofevent, etc. By entering the starting and ending location, dates oftravel, and the various detailed preferences, the GCCS can search itsdatabase to provide a trip itinerary with hotels, restaurants, events,people, and places that meet the criteria. As a source of revenue,content related advertising can be displayed. For example, if anitinerary is created from New York City to Disney World, advertisementscan be displayed for restaurants, hotels and other places of interestlocated in the towns recommended in the itinerary.

Referring to FIG. 11, in an eleventh application of the generic contentcollection system and/or universal button(s), a generic contentcollection system 600 may include a universal button 605 that is linkedto its own universal or generic content collection service 610, andoptionally to the one or more other collection services 615 a, 615 b,615 c, 615 d, . . . 615 n that are differentiated by type of contentcollected. The generic content collection service 610 advantageously mayinclude the ability to store all content types within one service andfurther reduce the confusion associated with the multiple services andtheir division by type of content. In the implementation of FIG. 11, theuser may activate the universal button 605 on a webpage 620 to collectone or more contents 625 from the webpage. Activating the universalbutton 605 submits the content(s) 625 to the engine 630 which can beconfigured to determine the content types collected (e.g., podcast,feed, etc.) and store the content in the service 610 in the propercontent type category 635 a, 635 b, . . . 635 n, which may bedifferentiated by the content categories conventionally used (e.g.,feeds, podcasts, bookmarks, etc.).

In many respects, the generic content collection service will store thecontent in a similar manner as which documents are stored on mostpersonal computers. Specifically, a user may store Word documents, Excelspreadsheets, PDF documents, video files, audio files, pictures, etc. onthe same hard drive or storage media. Within the hard drive or storagemedia the various types of content may be stored within a common folderbut differentiated by file type extensions. In the same manner, thevarious content types can be saved in a common folder and differentiatedby content type in a manner similar to file extension. Alternatively,the content can be stored in subfolders that are differentiated bycontent type.

The functionality of the GCCS system is varied. For example, the GCCScan be used to collect any of the typical content available on theInternet. For example, the GCCS may be used to collect any one of thefollowing Bookmarks, URLs, Products, Text, Ads, Classifieds, Coupons,Feeds, Music, Podcasts, Images, Videos, Products, Shopping, Events,People, Snippets, Files, Documents, Search Engine results, Links. Forexample, if a user is on a web page and desires to collect as a bookmarkthe user would click on the GCCS button and the URL bookmark be sent tothe user's preferred destination(s) for such content through the GCCS.If the content to be collected is a product, the GCCS button would belocated in the proximity of the item on the web page. By clicking thebutton, the information about the product would be sent to the user'spreferred destination(s) for such content through the GCCS. As may beevident, this is the same method for transferring the information aswould be used for the bookmark collected. However, if the informationcollected is about a product, the amount and type of informationcollected can be quite variable. For example, at one extreme theinformation collected may simply be the URL of the page. Additionalinformation can be provided based on how the web page is set up and/orhow the GCCS button is configured and/or how the web page sets up theGCCS button specifically for the content on that page.

The information sent by the collection button on the web page can bespecified first by standards for content description (e.g.,micro-content, xml vocabularies, database, text files, etc.). As anexample of this, the button can be specified to search, find and collectinformation based on items or item types that can be used to provide aprofile of the item collected. These items or item types will haveparticular attributes, both basic and defined, associated with them,such as title, description, keywords, and perhaps a URL as examples ofbasic attributes. Examples of defined attributes will depend upon theitem type. The number of item types is not limited but varies on areal-time basis as people use the Internet and reflects what users wantto describe. For example, known or common items include recipes, people,products, houses, services, video, images, ads, classifieds, and events.The attributes associated with each of these item types may becompletely different from each other or have some in common. Forexample, a recipe item type may have the following attributes: calories,course, fat content, preparation time, etc.

As another alternative, the web page can be set up to include metadataabout the content of the page and items on the page. The GCCS buttonthen would collect the information about the page including themetadata. As yet another alternative, the web page publisher cancomplete the configuration of the button to provide the item type andattribute information for the GCCS button. Thus, in the example of therecipe information above, the web publisher can specify the item type tobe recipe and provide values for the attributes listed above.

The GCCS is not limited to particular locations or connectivity. Forexample, the system can be used online, offline, or with a mobiledevice. Collecting content online refers generally to collectinginformation from web pages, online services (e.g., RSS feed, podcast,etc.), etc. Collecting content offline for example can be collectingcontent using a device to collect information without using the propertyof being online to collect the information. This can be using an RFIDscanner, a bar code scanner, Q-code, key pad, camera function of aphone, laser, or other visually-based system, SMS text messaging, etc.For example, a smart phone can be configured to have a GCCS buttoneither as software or hardware and using the button causes the captureof information about an item. For example, a visitor to a museum maywish to capture a reference to an item in a museum for later viewing.The user may wish to store the content in various destinations. Thesedestinations may range from a completely public and centralized GCCS,such as was described above for the trip itinerary planningimplementation, to a more private or local, device-specific locationsuch as a PDA in which preferences are set by the user for determiningwhether the information is shared or retained locally without sharing.

In a twelfth application of the GCCS, the system is configured to alsoact as a social network. In this implementation, the users of the GCCScan collect content they find online or offline and share it with theirfriends via email; text messaging; instant messaging; social networkssuch as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc, or via the GCCS itself. If theuser chooses to share content through one or more external socialnetwork (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc) the GCCS will performthis operation using the API provided by the corresponding service(s),using login information and recipient usernames provided by that user.If the user chooses to share content via the GCCS itself, the GCCS willperform this operation by optionally prompting the user for contactinformation for each recipient user (e.g. name, username, email address,phone number, instant messaging username, URL, etc). If a recipient useris already a member of the GCCS, that user can also be identified usinghis/her GCCS username. Users of the GCCS can also invite new users tojoin the GCCS. Users of the GCCS can also create and join groups ofusers. Through these and other mechanisms, the GCCS acts as a socialnetwork where users are not only connected through their interests andcontent they collect over time, but also through the connections theycreate when joining with, connecting with, inviting, and sharing withother people or groups. And by extension, people are also connectedthrough the content, people, and groups associated with the people theyare connected with through the system, directly or indirectly. The GCCSmay also include other factors when connecting users, includinggeographic locations, age, gender, birth date, occupation, civil status,etc.

The GCCS may also assign levels of authority to each user, for each oftheir areas of interest. This level of authority (for example from 0 to10—with 0 meaning no authority and 10 meaning maximum authority), can beused by the system in combination with other factors to compute aqualitative value for a given piece of content collected. Sincebookmarking or sharing content can be interpreted as a vote for thatcontent, the inclusion of an authority factor can further help the GCCSdetermine which content is truly valuable and relevant and which contentis not, by also factoring in who is collecting that content. Forexample, content about digital cameras collected by a long-time userwith strong interests in digital cameras or related topics, and withconsistent usage patterns will likely be assigned a higher quality valueby the system than if collected by a new user with no interests indigital cameras, and with irregular usage patterns.

The authority index (or level) for a given user and interest of thatuser is computed using 1) attributes of that person and his/her internalprofile, 2) attributes of the content collected/shared, and 3) theauthority index of the people connected to that person for that interestand/or related interests. The various factors mentioned above under 1)include: a) all demographic attributes: age, birth date, gender,geographic location, etc b) internal profile attributes, interests, etcc) join date, frequency of use, usage patterns, etc. The attributes ofthe content collected include keywords, URL, metadata, etc.

While several particular forms of the invention have been illustratedand described, it will be apparent that various modifications andcombinations of the invention detailed in the text and drawings can bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, the content may be collected by watches that are modified foroffline or online content collection (e.g., bookmarking, etc.). Watchesare one of the most ubiquitous objects in use today and are easilyaccessible at most, if not all, times. If watches were to be modified tohave a small scanner (e.g., barcode, RFID, etc) and a small contentcollection button or user interface, e.g., an AddThis button forbookmarking, an offline object (e.g., an ad in the newspaper, new movie,a product in a store, could be collected using the scanner on the mobilephone. Moreover, references to the AddThis button and/or service are notintended to limit the invention but merely are exemplary of oneimplementation of a universal button and GCCS. Accordingly, it is notintended that the invention be limited, except as by the appendedclaims.

1. A method for collecting multiple types of content using a user interface, the method comprising: activating the user interface associated with the content, wherein the user interface is configurable to be associated with at least two types of content; optionally, providing a list of one or more content collections services, wherein a first content collection service is configured to collect a first type of content and a second content collection service is configured to collect a second type of content; and directing the content to one or more content collection services.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises one or more of a browser button, a button displayed on a webpage, and a button on a mobile device.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the mobile device comprises one or more of a cell phone, PDA, camera, and watch.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises one or more of bookmarks, RSS feeds, podcasts, products, advertisements, contacts, events, images, videos, ads, classifieds, documents, and snippets of information.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is displayed on a web page and the user interface is displayed on the webpage.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising additional user interfaces displayed on the webpage.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the additional user interfaces are associated with content of a different type than the first type of content.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting a default content collection service for the content, whereby subsequently activating a user interface associated with a second content directs the content to the default content collection service, the second content type being the same content type as the first content.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein subsequently activating the user interface associated with the second content directs the content to the default content collection service without presenting an option of selecting a content collection service.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the content collected is stored in a database separate from the content collection service.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data collected is used for determining advertisements to be displayed to a user.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the data collected is used for creating a profile of the user of the user interface.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the data collected is used for inventory management purposes.
 14. A system for collecting multiple types of content using a user interface, the system comprising: a means for displaying a user interface associated with the content, wherein the user interface is configurable to be associated with at least two types of content; a means for processing data created by activating the user interface to direct the content to one or more content collection services; and an optional display of a list of one or more content collections services, wherein a first content collection service is configured to collect a first type of content and a second content collection service is configured to collect a second type of content.
 15. A method for collecting content using a user interface, the method comprising: activating the user interface associated with the content; providing a list of one or more content collections services to receive the content; and directing the content to one or more content collection services.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface comprises one or more of a browser button, a button displayed on a webpage, and a button on a mobile device.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the mobile device comprises one or more of a cell phone, PDA, camera, and a watch.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the content comprises bookmarks, RSS feeds, podcasts, products, advertisements, contacts, events, images, videos, ads, classifieds, documents, and snippets of information.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the content is displayed on a web page and the user interface is displayed on the webpage.
 20. The method of claim 15, further comprising additional user interfaces displayed on the webpage. 